What You Need to Know About Moving to CalgaryMark Valliant2019-10-11T15:06:01-07:00

Are you thinking about a move to the city of Calgary? Well, we can start by saying that it’s a great city with an abundance of things to do for families, singles, and young professionals. Calgary is the third largest city in Canada after behind Toronto and Montreal. With any large municipality like Calgary, you can expect an interesting real estate market, Fortune 500 companies, reputable educational institutions, and of course some fun with the infamous Calgary Stampede.

But we will get to all of that.

Living in Calgary

Calgary is located in the foothills of one of the most beautiful attractions in the world, the Rocky Mountains. If you love spending your time in the outdoors, Calgary is great for its numerous parks which are great for walking and of course, letting your dog run free.

Like other major cities, public transportation is vital to the city and Calgary’s C-Train as well as it’s bus system can get you to most parts of the city. Ride-sharing apps like Uber is also an alternative to get you around the big city if you don’t drive. The Calgary Airport (YYC) is an international hub seeing over 16 million passengers from all over the world travel through the airport each year, making it the fourth busiest airport in all of Canada.

What makes it different than the rest of Canada?

In 1988, Calgary hosted the Olympic Games, becoming the first Canadian city to host the heavily coveted event. Today, Olympic Park is used by professional athletes to train all year round (winter sports and summer sports) and it is also open to the public to use as well. Olympic Park is also home to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame where you can celebrate and observe the achievements of great Canadian athletes.

Health, Safety, and Education

Calgarians take their environment very seriously and it is by no mistake that the city consistently ranks as one of the cleanest cities in the world. In 2017, City 10 named Calgary in their top 25 cleanest cities in the world due to the city’s commitment to the five principles of cleanliness: water drinkability and availability, sewage system quality, waste removal and recycling, traffic congestion and air pollution. The city of Calgary chose to invest in the cleanliness of the city with its “The Green Calgary” program which really educated citizens about composting and what should go in the recycling bin.

There are four major hospitals in Calgary, Alberta Children’s Hospital, Foothills Medical Centre, Peter Lougheed Centre, and the Rockyview General Hospital. You’ll have no problem finding yourself a family doctor as there are 138 doctors per every 100,000 people.

The University of Calgary is one of the more popular universities in Canada and is also recognized as one of the top research universities in Canada as well. The university educates over 30,000 students each year with their undergraduate and graduate programs. As for primary and secondary school options, the Calgary Board of Education has over 200 schools with over 100,000 students. This is one of the many options, there is also the Calgary Catholic School Board, as well as a number of French schools for the Francophone population, charter schools, and private schools.

Jeff Whyte/Shutterstock

Economy

Calgary is the third largest municipality in Canada and Alberta’s largest city. The big city often draws comparisons to other large Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Unlike the aforementioned cities, Calgary is more affordable than them as the average cost of real estate is $430,000 whereas the average cost of real estate in Toronto and Vancouver $768,400 and $1,087,500, respectively, according to a report from MSN.com.

Oil and gas industries are often recognized as the main drivers of the economy in Alberta and that proves no different in Calgary. Right after Toronto, Calgary leads the country with the highest concentration of head offices and continues to see more companies making the move to Calgary. Large companies such as Enbridge, Suncor Energy, Canadian Pacific Railway, WestJet, and Shaw Communications all have their head offices located in Calgary.

What else do you need to know about moving to Calgary?

It’s always important to find a reputable moving company to handle your move, whether it’s a long-distance move or a short one. You want the best professionals handling your items, so be sure to do the proper research to find a company with the right accreditations.

Feel free to give us a call to ask us about any moving-related questions or take a look at our blog for any other questions you may have!